Showing posts with label Video Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Games. Show all posts
Friday, 23 July 2010
Monday, 15 February 2010
Game Review - Puzzled
Puzzled?, developed by Maturus Ltd, is a very challenging puzzle game for the mobile phone platform.The version I have is 1.01 and, for a few pounds, this game represents fantastic value for money. At 260 levels long, there is plenty to play through.
The game is a basic puzzle game - you have levels of various sizes and shapes, and you have to move colourful blocks to touch other blocks of the same colour to eliminate them. Eliminate all blocks to pass the level.
The game progresses on a decent learning curve - you have to deal with the logistics of eliminating 3 blocks, then 5 blocks, then come the ice blocks, and don't get me started on the fire blocks.
The game's 260 levels are unlocked at the following pace - when you complete ten levels, you unlock another ten. You must complete all levels to unlock a further ten. While this makes for a long lasting game that really challenges you to face your brain and find a way past every single challenge, sometimes you will find yourself stuck on a certain level and wish for the ability to play on without discovering the secrets of that level.In essence, the game is only as long as you are smart. Persevere, and you will be rewarded with 260 ways to test your mind - find a difficult level, and you will be left bored.
In my opinion, considering both the price and the platform, this game gives incredible value for money, longevity and challenge. Whether it is fun or not is up to the individual player to decide.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Weekly Website - Kongregate
Weekly Website:
Kongregate
Kongregate is a place that combines the quick-fix hit of flash gaming with the community-based scoring of Xbox Live gamer scores.
Here, you can choose to simply spend a few hours playing a variety of short, yet extremely high quality, independently created flash video games. My favourites include the various Tower Defense games, as well as the Storm The House series. There is something for everyone here.
However if, like me, you are a rather ego-driven, high score chaser, these games come complete with various achievements and badges you can collect - kill a certain number of enemies, for example, and you may earn a badge. Each achievement comes with some points that are added to your total score, as well as a neat badge against your profile.
I had already played many of these games via NotDoppler (a website I have frequented for a long time), so I set myself a challenge - get to Level 10 within a month of playing. As you can see, I almost completed this goal, missing my deadline by a mere 3 days.
Finally, another reason Kongregate deserves praise is its emphasis on heaping accolade and money on the games developers. Ad revenue is shared with the game creators, with 25% to 50% going directly to them, as well as the opportunity to very easily donate/tip the developers of your favourite games.
I highly recommend checking out Kongregate - whether you want to chase high scores or not, there are plenty of fun games here for all tastes!
Also, check out my profile if you wish to add me - d3v01d
Kongregate
Kongregate is a place that combines the quick-fix hit of flash gaming with the community-based scoring of Xbox Live gamer scores.
Here, you can choose to simply spend a few hours playing a variety of short, yet extremely high quality, independently created flash video games. My favourites include the various Tower Defense games, as well as the Storm The House series. There is something for everyone here.
However if, like me, you are a rather ego-driven, high score chaser, these games come complete with various achievements and badges you can collect - kill a certain number of enemies, for example, and you may earn a badge. Each achievement comes with some points that are added to your total score, as well as a neat badge against your profile.
I had already played many of these games via NotDoppler (a website I have frequented for a long time), so I set myself a challenge - get to Level 10 within a month of playing. As you can see, I almost completed this goal, missing my deadline by a mere 3 days.
Finally, another reason Kongregate deserves praise is its emphasis on heaping accolade and money on the games developers. Ad revenue is shared with the game creators, with 25% to 50% going directly to them, as well as the opportunity to very easily donate/tip the developers of your favourite games.
I highly recommend checking out Kongregate - whether you want to chase high scores or not, there are plenty of fun games here for all tastes!
Also, check out my profile if you wish to add me - d3v01d
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Weekly Image - Street Fighter Tattoo
I love Street Fighter, I love tattoos, I love this picture.
Source: unknown (If this image is owned by you and you wish it removed, please email me at lostquestions23@gmail.com)
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Weekly Image - Tetris Tattoo
I have nothing but admiration and respect for "silly" tattoos.There is a lot to be said for permanent marks on your body, the longevity of a joke and the sanctity of tradition amongst tattoos, but I say, throw caution into the wind - it takes a lot of bravery to be as cool as this guy.
Source: unknown (If you know the source, email me at lostquestions23@gmail.com please. Credit where credit's due - I sure as heck didn't get this tattoo!)
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Musings - Grit, 'Old' Music and Accidental Art
Leaving work early today to catch an earlier bus than my usual, I figured I could take advantage of the thawing weather and jog down to the stop in plenty of time. (For those non-Glaswegians out there, it has been hard enough simply walking around lately due to the ice/snow/slush, never mind entertaining such an insane idea as jogging!).
After my first few yards I felt my feet losing grip and threatening to conspire with gravity and send me tumbling to the ground. There was definitely no ice around, so what was the problem?
Then I heard that familiar, awful, crunching sound. Grit.
That's right, for weeks we have suffered through ice and snow and nary a sight of the brown-orange salt that supposedly keeps us safe, yet now, with the ground clearing up, it's everywhere!
This slight set-back caused me to miss my bus, by a mere 10 seconds no less (damn you traffic lights! You're supposed to exist to help pedestrians, not hold us back while our buses flow freely through your green lights of doom!!).
Still, at least I knew I had plenty of time to walk to the next stop. And the one after that. And the one after that. 15 minutes later, my bus came and, feeling slightly fitter but certainly less happy, I plugged in my mp3 player.
Now, back to Sunday where I found myself with a rare spare few minutes of peace. I dug out my old external hard-drive, full to the brim of my vast CD collection which I had plenty of time to rip to mp3 during my care-free teenage years (yes, I was always a geek!). Time to update the new mp3 player with some old familiar songs, I thought. And boy did I need that sense of old fashioned comfort now.
There are a few things I noticed about my playlist as I sat staring out the condensation dripping down the windows. First, dzk is truly a phenomenal rapper. He was never one to seek fame or record deals, preferring instead to keep full creative control over his output, and what a wealth of output he has. His music, to me, is timeless. It may not be the nicest subject matter (mostly falling back on those age-old rap cliches of women, drugs and notoriety) but his execution and flow are flawless. Consider him, simply put, a much better, and faster, Eminem.
The next thing I noticed, as I listened to the entirety of Enter Shikari's "Take To The Skies" album, is that sometimes production is a bad thing. A very bad thing. Compared to dzk's "do it yourself" production, which was smooth but never overpowering, Enter Shikari's more polished work almost drowns out the soul of the songs.
I was a huge fan of Enter Shikari from the moment I saw their video for "Sorry, You're Not A Winner" and loved their down-to-earth style and rabid enthusiasm. As such, I heard songs such as "Mothership" long before they finalised their debut album and, I must admit, I find myself going back time and again to these demos, where the core brilliance of the song screams out at you, rather than the muted, tamed beast of the final album.
Perhaps it is simply my ears refusing to accept change after listening to one version of a song for months, but I personally hate it when a band releases an epic, free-roaming beast of a demo, only to follow it up with a final version that sounds like the same epic beast, only trapped in the middle of the ocean, trying its best not to drown in a sea of production.
See also: yourcodenameis:milo - All That Was Missing, from the album "They Came From The Sun" - life-changing demo, so-so final product.
Coming out of this musical daydream, I noticed that I had been unconsciously staring at a sole window, noticing a pattern someone's sleeve had left in the condensation. Now, it is very rare that a piece of "real" art causes me to pause and consider life in general, however, these random impressions had formed a pattern so profound it acted as a gateway into my subconscious, a personal canvas on which to place all my thoughts and feelings of the day into a spectral formation that allowed for processing.
Has this ever happened to you?
(For reference, the pattern I saw looked kind of like the metallic alien Chozo statues from Super Metroid, mixed with the Firefox logo, holding the head of a Gibson Flying V electric guitar!)
After my first few yards I felt my feet losing grip and threatening to conspire with gravity and send me tumbling to the ground. There was definitely no ice around, so what was the problem?
Then I heard that familiar, awful, crunching sound. Grit.
That's right, for weeks we have suffered through ice and snow and nary a sight of the brown-orange salt that supposedly keeps us safe, yet now, with the ground clearing up, it's everywhere!
This slight set-back caused me to miss my bus, by a mere 10 seconds no less (damn you traffic lights! You're supposed to exist to help pedestrians, not hold us back while our buses flow freely through your green lights of doom!!).
Still, at least I knew I had plenty of time to walk to the next stop. And the one after that. And the one after that. 15 minutes later, my bus came and, feeling slightly fitter but certainly less happy, I plugged in my mp3 player.
Now, back to Sunday where I found myself with a rare spare few minutes of peace. I dug out my old external hard-drive, full to the brim of my vast CD collection which I had plenty of time to rip to mp3 during my care-free teenage years (yes, I was always a geek!). Time to update the new mp3 player with some old familiar songs, I thought. And boy did I need that sense of old fashioned comfort now.
There are a few things I noticed about my playlist as I sat staring out the condensation dripping down the windows. First, dzk is truly a phenomenal rapper. He was never one to seek fame or record deals, preferring instead to keep full creative control over his output, and what a wealth of output he has. His music, to me, is timeless. It may not be the nicest subject matter (mostly falling back on those age-old rap cliches of women, drugs and notoriety) but his execution and flow are flawless. Consider him, simply put, a much better, and faster, Eminem.
The next thing I noticed, as I listened to the entirety of Enter Shikari's "Take To The Skies" album, is that sometimes production is a bad thing. A very bad thing. Compared to dzk's "do it yourself" production, which was smooth but never overpowering, Enter Shikari's more polished work almost drowns out the soul of the songs.
I was a huge fan of Enter Shikari from the moment I saw their video for "Sorry, You're Not A Winner" and loved their down-to-earth style and rabid enthusiasm. As such, I heard songs such as "Mothership" long before they finalised their debut album and, I must admit, I find myself going back time and again to these demos, where the core brilliance of the song screams out at you, rather than the muted, tamed beast of the final album.
Perhaps it is simply my ears refusing to accept change after listening to one version of a song for months, but I personally hate it when a band releases an epic, free-roaming beast of a demo, only to follow it up with a final version that sounds like the same epic beast, only trapped in the middle of the ocean, trying its best not to drown in a sea of production.
See also: yourcodenameis:milo - All That Was Missing, from the album "They Came From The Sun" - life-changing demo, so-so final product.
Coming out of this musical daydream, I noticed that I had been unconsciously staring at a sole window, noticing a pattern someone's sleeve had left in the condensation. Now, it is very rare that a piece of "real" art causes me to pause and consider life in general, however, these random impressions had formed a pattern so profound it acted as a gateway into my subconscious, a personal canvas on which to place all my thoughts and feelings of the day into a spectral formation that allowed for processing.
Has this ever happened to you?
(For reference, the pattern I saw looked kind of like the metallic alien Chozo statues from Super Metroid, mixed with the Firefox logo, holding the head of a Gibson Flying V electric guitar!)
Super Metroid - a game you should all play.Monday, 18 January 2010
Weekly Website - Not Doppler
NotDoppler.comOne of my favourite websites, NotDoppler collects some of the best flash games on the internet and provides them in one convenient location. For the regular, but casual, gamer - perhaps someone who hasn't got a lot of time to search and play many games to find the best manually - this website is an absolute treat.
Updated promptly once per week for almost 5 years, NotDoppler provides a regular dose of, on average, 6 games to play, and they are generally the very best games around, covering all genres and levels of skill.
NotDoppler is the best website for the casual gamer, without a doubt.
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